Bicycles have two wheels with a rider's seat positioned on a frame extending between the wheels, the front wheel being connected by a fork assembly and a stem to a steering member or handle bar. A typical steering member consists of a symetrically curved 1-inch diameter metal bar which may have tape or other resilient material wrapped along at least a portion of the length of the bar to improve the grip of the hands thereon.
Modern bicycles are designed for specific purposes, and those intended for speed and distance are designed such that for optimum performance the rider stands on the pedals with his back substantially parallel to the pavement with the weight of his upper body supported by his hands on the steering member. This posture results in a considerable amount of weight being supported by the rider's arms, and consequently, the rider will move his hands from place to place on the stearing member to reduce the stress inflicted on the hands. Not only do the hands support a great amount of weight, but such bicycles have thin tires inflated under high air pressure such that little of the shock between the pavement and the wheel is absorbed by the tires and a great deal of it is transmitted through the fork and stem to the steering member and to the hands of the bicycle rider.
Bicycles which are designed for riding over rough terrain, on the other hand, have steering members which are nearly linear in shape, some of which have raised outer ends. Such steering members are meant to be grasped only at the outer ends in order to maintain control while the front wheel is crossing irregular terrain.
It would be desirable to provide a steering member which ergonomically fits the human hands and distributes the weight and pressure to the rider's body over a greater portion of each hand. It would also be desirable to provide a steering member which will absorb a greater portion of the shock and reduce impact and stress to the hands.
Prior efforts to provide plastic steering members for bicycles such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,522 require the assembly of numerous pieces and offer only a modest improvement in comfort to the hands over metal bar steering members.